Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-09-30
RARE SPORT.
Hunting the Kangaroo. Vicious Wild Dogs
and Snakes


Hunting the Kangaroo. Vicious Wild Dogs
and Snakes.
Hunting kangaroos and wild dogs in
Queensland is great sport" said Arthur
Z. HUgue, a wealthy owner of gold mines
at Charters, Queensland, to 4 reporter
OF the San Francisco Examiner yesterday
at Russ, Mr.. Hogue had arrived on
the steamer Alameda for the purpose of
spending two months in the United States
to look up the treatment of pyrite ores
"We have a great many of both," re-
sumed he, "but the kangarOos are getting
little thinned off of late. They are
hunted for their skins, which are worth
81 80 apiece in the London market. 1t
is rare sport hunting them.
"A number of men on horseback. some
times forty or fifty, with band of ma
tives and lot of kangaroo dogs, form
a great semicircle for miles across, or
sucn a matter.
after moving over the country tor
quite distance they gradually work the
kangarOOs in the drives prepared be-
fOrehand.
The drive is q great A-shaped fence
that narrOws up as this hunters advance
and ends in a great corral, in which the
kangaroos are finally cooped. Then you
close your gate and you have your kapga-
roos all in as snug as can be.
The biggest drive / ever knew of in
Queensland consisted OF 600 kangaroos,
but they had one III New Wales once
when 10000 were driven in at one time.
"Iwagine what tremendous lot of
wild animals you would have all grouped
thus together, and varying in size from
zTx TO -,
THE hounds used on the kangaroo
drives are long-legged, little fellows,
something like your greyhounds, and
they are great stayers in the chase. They
are called kangaroo dogs, because they
are so effective in rounding them in.
They are of a light dun color. and for
long race are regular clippers.
THE kapgarOOs springs with tremen-
dous force at first, and for the first mile
or go distance the hounds like the wind
goes on, and have to give in to the
houRds.
1T is rare and interesting sport hunt
ing these kangaroOs.
But We have another kind of sport
there that Is fully equal to it-hunting
the native wild dogs. We have these in
lieu of tt wolves, and they are a bad lot.
They ars about the size of the domestic
dog, re OF light-brown color and very
ferUcious.
"a pecuIiarity about them is tina. they
have no bark. They only howl. They
will fy through band of sheep biting
right and left. ahd kill thousands in an
exceedingly short time.
l have known couple of dogs to go
through a band this way, whtn there
were notwithstanding many watchers on
the outskirts, and kill 500 or 800 in
single night. They just kill them thus
from pure cussedness, not because they
want them to eat.
''The wild dogs, however vicious as
they are, do not often attack men. But
they have been known to do il in winter
dosn in Victoria, when food was scarce.
In many instances there they made Een
climb trees TO get out of their reach.
Il have been out on the great plains of
Queensland and have seen kangaroos ap-
preaching painting and frothing at she
mouth / always knew then that wild
dogs were on their trail. II would only
be few minutes till they would come ND.
These wild dogs have a fashion of
speeding each other. First the dog will
run as far as ne can after kangaroo,
and then another will drop in and con-
tinue the pursuing while the first rests,
and 70 on until ten or dozen Wild dogs
have been on the trail The last viii
bring him TO bay or kill him, while the
others leisurely come up and then they
all join in and finish him
an Queensland We also have great
man. poisonous snakes, at least in GER
taia districts. The worst is called the